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Just 35% of New York State voters agree with Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try the confessed mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks and five other suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York City rather than before a military tribunal. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds that 55% are opposed to that decision, which is part of the Obama administration’s effort to close [Guantanamo]. ... Nationally, 51% of voters oppose the decision to try the suspected terrorists in a civilian court in New York City. ... Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans and 62%...

Note: The following news brief is a quote: http://ny1.com/8-queens-news-content/top_stories/109259/queens-imam-involved-in-terror-investigation-granted-holiday-travel 11/20/2009 09:14 AM Queens Imam Involved In Terror Investigation Granted Holiday Travel By: NY1 News The Queens imam under house arrest for allegedly interfering with a terror investigation will spend Thanksgiving in Virginia. According to reports, Ahmad Afzali was given permission to travel to his father’s home for the holiday. A federal judge in Brooklyn approved the trip after a request was filed by Afzali’s attorney. Federal prosecutors reportedly did not oppose the request, but the office of pretrial services was concerned his electronic ankle monitoring bracelet would be out of...

NY Activists: Join NOW NY State Dec. 4! Demand health care reform that includes full reproductive rights for ALL women! Join with the National Organization for Women New York State chapter, local activits and prominent reproductive rights advocates to say NO to any Stupak-Pitts-like amendemnts in the National Health Care Reform package. Full Reproductive Rights for Women....Nothing More, Nothing Less Location: Front of Senator Schumer's office 757 Third Avenue (at 48th Street) NYC Date: Dec. 4, 2009 Time: Noon until 2:00 pm

To try Mohammed in a criminal court is to treat his act as criminal, and coming from a young administration that has already ceased using the phrases ‘terrorism’, ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ and ‘war on terror’ this serves as confirmation for many who, like myself, view the struggle against terrorism and against the oppressions of fundamentalism as the most important international (and moral) task facing our nation. Trying Mohammed in a criminal court is not necessary, and one could argue that he does not deserve to be treated as even the least respected criminal by the United States. He is by every...

Senator John Kerry described international terrorism as “primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation,’’ and urged voters to think of deadly jihadist violence as merely “a nuisance’’ that we need “to reduce’’ - akin, he said, to gambling or prostitution. Kerry lost that election, and the Bush administration’s very different approach - treating terrorist attacks as acts of war, not criminal violations - continued for four more years. Pre-empting terror in advance, not prosecuting it after the fact, remained the overriding priority. Counterterrorism efforts under George W. Bush were aggressive and they drew much criticism. But whatever else might be...

If there was ever a more irresponsible decision by a U.S. attorney general than Eric Holder's decision to try the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attack and four others as common criminals in a civilian court in New York City, I can't recall it. He is gambling with the nation's security and providing a platform that will give aid and comfort to the enemy at a time of war. And he is doing so with no discernible benefit, least of all to showcase the strength of our judicial system. Does Eric Holder remember the most infamous criminal trial of the...

WASHINGTON -- For late-19th-century anarchists, terrorism was the "propaganda of the deed." And the most successful propaganda-by-deed in history was 9/11 -- not just the most destructive, but the most spectacular and telegenic. And now its self-proclaimed architect, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, has been given by the Obama administration a civilian trial in New York. Just as the memory fades, 9/11 has been granted a second life -- and KSM, a second act: "9/11, The Director's Cut," narration by KSM. September 11, 2001 had to speak for itself. A decade later, the deed will be given voice. KSM has gratuitously been...

Giuliani Said To Be Leaning Toward Senate Race N.Y. Times report says he's decided against run for governor Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was reported by The New York Times to have ruled out a run for governor. By MICHAEL GORMLEY Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is leaning toward running for the U.S. Senate rather than making a bid for governor, two Republican advisers said Thursday. "From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit for him...

There’s been virtually no change over the past two months in the hypothetical Election 2010 Senate match-up in New York State between Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand and former Governor George Pataki. Including the fact that Pataki still hasn’t announced for the race. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Gillibrand leading Pataki 45% to 42%. Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent are undecided. The survey was taken Tuesday night prior to news reports that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is planning to run against Gillibrand.

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York next year after months of mulling a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision. .. It remains unclear whether the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on the newly installed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in parts of the state. The decision will be a boon to other Republican contenders. So far, Rick Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island,...

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year - but will run for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News. A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term.

Nov 19 2009, 11:20 am by Chris GoodHoffman Wants Recount, Blames ACORN, Unions For "Tampering" With Election Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has seen his chances slip away of overtaking Democrat Bill Owens in the vote tallies in New York's 23rd congressional district, but he's now circulating an email to supporters announcing he's revoked his concession and that "ACORN and the unions" tampered with election results to prevent him from winning. The email, which is pretty long for a campaign fundraising note, lists all the regularities Hoffman has counted, and it reads sort of like a manifesto of all that's fishy...

Published reports out today have squelched the long-standing rumors that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will run for governor of New York State. But, what if Giuliani makes a bid for the U.S. Senate? Giuliani leads U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democrat appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill the vacant seat left by Hillary Clinton. 54% of registered voters statewide would vote for Giuliani compared with 40% who would support Gillibrand. Even one-third of Democrats report they would back the Republican challenger, and Giuliani runs competitively against Gillibrand in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year - but will run for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News. A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term. If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 - rather than run for re-election to the Senate. A Giuliani spokeswoman downplayed the reports. "Rudy has a...

Cheap speed in all weather, Fazio says; build 'em here, tooA well-known Long Island business advocate pitched the benefits of superconducting magnetic-levitation trains for the local economy to Suffolk lawmakers Friday. Maglev trains, as they are known, hover above magnetized tracks along which they are propelled at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour. The latest maglev technology can accelerate a train from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 11 seconds, and stop it faster than conventional trains through instant reversal of the magnetic pulses pushing the vehicle, according to Long Island Metro Business Action President Ernie Fazio,...

-- For a moment, he became judge, jury and executioner. President Obama yesterday blurted out a predicted conviction and death sentence for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- then sheepishly qualified the prejudgment. In one of several TV interviews at the end of his Asia trip, Obama said those offended by the legal privileges offered to Mohammed in a civilian rather than military trial won't find it "offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him." And then he quickly backtracked, saying he didn't mean to suggest he was prejudging the self-confessed mass murderer....

A controversial imam who authorities have called an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing is scheduled to speak tonight to a Muslim student group at Queens College on the subject "How Islam Perfected Thanksgiving." The appearance by Brooklyn mosque imam Siraj Wahhaj - who also testified for convicted terror plotter "blind Sheik" Omar Abdel Rahman - and a recent nasty verbal altercation involving members of the Muslim Student Association that invited him, has spurred some other students to demand that Queens College cut off funding for that group.

Were the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, the result of criminal action or an act of war? Nomenclature matters because it shapes peoples ideas, thought processes and, thereby, actions. Nine days after the attack, President George Bush laid out his view of the attack in no uncertain terms: "On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country," he said to a joint session of Congress. In contrast, the current administration has determined that we are no longer engaged in a war on terror, and that those who were involved in Sept. 11, 2001, should...

Even as he faces near-impossible odds of pulling ahead in the count, Doug Hoffman announced Wednesday night that he is officially revoking his concession from Election Night, and is accusing labor unions and ACORN of stealing the election for Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.). Hoffman posted a message on his campaign site Wednesday alleging dirty tricks by Democrats, and is asking for additional campaign contributions to fund a legal challenge to the election results. “As evidence surfaces, we find out that reported results from election night were far from accurate. ACORN and the unions did their best to try and sway...

MOIRA, N.Y. -- A northern New York man is recovering after being attacked by a 10-point buck while he was loading firewood. Authorities said 56-year-old Gerald Dabiew was cut and bruised from head to toe by the buck outside his house in Moira, 200 miles north of Albany. Dabiew's house is surrounded by woods, so he didn't think twice when he saw the buck crossing the road -- until the animal charged and knocked him down. Dabiew -- who said he doesn't hunt -- wrapped his legs around the animal's neck and held onto its antlers as it battered him....

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman on Wednesday accused ACORN and union interests of stealing the upstate New York special election that he conceded on Nov. 3. Hoffman on Monday "unconceded" after recanvassing of votes across the district showed Democratic Rep. Bill Owens' margin of victory narrowing. Hoffman originally conceded after trailing Owens by 5,335 votes, but further counts showed him trailing by 3,176 votes. A recent count of absentee ballots in three counties showed Hoffman still trailing by 2,951. Until this point Hoffman has said a victory would be a "long shot." Now, Hoffman is accusing liberal groups of unjustly...

(snip) "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," said Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein. "We apologize." Blankfein had told a British newspaper the other day that Goldman was doing “God’s work”. That caused a firestorm online. (snip)

It was another tale of sock it to the taxpayers on Wednesday. New York lawmakers have come up with more ways to make you pay. And as CBS 2 HD found out taxpayers feel like they are being nickel and dimed. New York drivers are suffering from an intense case of road rage over the state's latest attempt to deplete their pocketbooks, issuing new license plates at a cost of $25 a pop. "Twenty five bucks? Just for license plates? Oh, that's not a good look, definitely not a good look," said Kai Yuen of Flatbush. "I feel they're trying...

Late on Friday, Attorney General Holder announced President Obama’s decision that the alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and his confederates would be tried in federal court in New York City rather than before a military tribunal. A firestorm of protest has erupted over whether the terrorists can be safely held in New York City, or whether this is good or bad for "international relations." Most of these discussions entirely miss the main point. Trials are about finding the facts, and punishing the guilty. This decision by the President, the opposite of what he said on the campaign trail, will...

Why is the Obama administration transferring Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who proudly proclaims himself the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, to a federal district court in New York? Has the defendant tired of the tropical breezes at Guantanamo? Would a change of scenery to the urban reaches of lower Manhattan improve his spirits? Or just those of a new administration bent on change if only for change's sake? Why transfer this all too well-known defendant and four of his closest associates from military to civilian jurisdiction? It has to be for some reason other than assuring swift and sure justice...

James Taranto is a far better forensic reader of the news than I am. Reading carefully the report that New York Governor Paterson objects to having the trial of the 9/11 terrorists in New York City, he reads that Paterson was told of this plan six months ago, shortly after the inauguration, just in case you had any residual doubts that this idiotic move wasn't pure politics: "New York's Gov. David Paterson is not happy with the White House's decision to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other enemy combatants to New York for civilian trials, reports WCBS-TV:

In a bid to shore up his relations with labor unions, Gov. David A. Paterson is readying legislation that would require developers to pay prevailing wages on many construction projects that receive public financing, meaning that construction workers would have to be paid significantly more than minimum wage. The legislation, which has the business community alarmed, would also impose wage requirements on large businesses that use space created by developments financed with public money, according to a draft of the bill. In New York City, those requirements would be $19.20 an hour — nearly three times the minimum wage —...

November 16, 2009 EDITORIAL Whistling Past the Deficit New York’s governor could not have spoken more plainly than he did last week before a joint session of the State Legislature. “Quite frankly, we are running out of money,” he said, as he asked members to help cut the budget. The plea has so far gone unanswered, even though, with each week, the fiscal problems get worse. Assembly members recognize that the deficit is even worse than the governor’s estimate. But they won’t cut the budget unless the Senate agrees to do so at the same time. That’s the Albany system....

<p>Vice President Biden’s motorcade was involved in a West Side collision that sent three people to the hospital today, sources said.</p> <p>Biden, who was headed to an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," was not hurt. It was the second accident for Biden’s motorcade in two days.</p>

New York City police officers raided the circulation offices of The New York Times, the Daily News, the New York Post, and El Diario, as part of a union corruption probe. A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press the investigation is focused on the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union, which ships newspapers across the region. The Manhattan District Attorney's office has accused the union in the past of having mob ties. Edward McDonald is a former federal prosecutor, who used to lead the Organized Crime Strike Force. He says time-sensitive industries, like construction and garbage-collection, have historically been more...

Doug Hoffman picks up 20 votes so far in 23rd Congressional District recanvass By Mark Weiner / The Post-Standard November 17, 2009, 7:25PM Washington, D.c. -- Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman picked up a net gain of 20 votes Tuesday — far from what he needs to win — as the count of absentee ballots began in the 23rd Congressional District. Hoffman received the tiny boost after Madison, Oneida and Hamilton counties said they finished counting their absentee ballots Tuesday. The majority of the sprawling district – eight other counties – will finish the process this week. But if early...

the White House made up its mind about this six months ago--that would be in May, roughly four months after President Obama's inauguration....why did it wait until last week to make the announcement? That it was the week after an election is bound to raise suspicions that the timing was politically motivated.

Despite growing concerns that trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in civilian court triggers a host of complications for the prosecution, Attorney General Eric Holder says he's confident the cases will be "successful."Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday stood by his decision to send five alleged Sept. 11 conspirators to New York for trial, saying his team carefully considered the potential downsides of taking the case out of the military commission system but ultimately determined federal court was the best option. Despite growing concerns that trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in civilian court triggers a host of complications for...

The Obama administration has chosen the wrong New York venue to try five co-conspirators in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Instead of a Manhattan courtroom less than a mile from the site of where the World Trade Center stood, the government should have chosen the Bronx Zoo, because a zoo is what will be created when this terrorist trial is held. In announcing the decision to try in a civilian court these "enemy combatants," as the Bush administration rightly described them, Attorney General Eric Holder said, "For over 200 years, our nation has relied on...

A disbarred New York lawyer convicted in 2005 on charges of supporting terrorism by helping an imprisoned blind Egyptian cleric smuggle messages to militant followers was ordered to prison by a U.S. federal appeals court that upheld her conviction on Tuesday.

The bloody struggle between the Jews and Palestinians has moved to a local battleground - Citi Field. A group that supports Palestinian causes is crying foul because The Hebron Fund, a Brooklyn-based organization that funds radical Jewish settlers in the West Bank city, is holding a fund-raiser Saturday at the home of the Mets. The money they collect will be used to support some 700 Jews who continue to squat in the overwhelmingly Palestinian city, protected from their angry neighbors by the Israeli Army, the pro-Palestinian group says. "The Palestinians have no rights," said Ethan Heitner, a spokesman for Adalah-NY:...

Decision to have a trial 6 months ahead goes to show they still have ideas that terrorism is a crime issue, not a military issue. Gov. David Patterson (D-N.Y.) is not at all on board with Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to have five Sept. 11 planners brought to New York City for a civilian criminal trial. Supposedly Holder made the decision, and he informed President Obama. Why is Patterson saying the White House warned him this was coming six months ago? The main headline this morning may be Patterson disagreeing with the White House on having the trials in...

According to Thomas Bouchard, a US psychologist famous for his research on twins raised apart,[1] even scientists with good reason to believe that the majority are wrong can be silenced. The reason is...

Mark HoffmanSurrounded by white corn drying the traditional way, manager Jeff Metoxen talks about the benefits of white corn to a group of visitors from Germany last month at the Tsyunhehkwa Agricultural Center in Oneida. Oneida embrace planting, harvesting of white corn as a staple of diet, culture Mark HoffmanWhite corn has far fewer rows of kernels than its sweet corn cousin. Oneida - George Washington's troops at Valley Forge may have starved to death without the white corn an Oneida Indian chief gave them in the winter of 1777 during the Revolutionary War. Now, the Oneida, like other...

Gov. David A. Paterson on Monday criticized the Obama administration’s decision to try five men linked to the Sept. 11 attacks in a civilian court in Manhattan. His comments made him one of a few Democrats to take that stand and underscored his schism with the White House. “This is not a decision that I would have made,” the governor said. “New York was very much the epicenter of that attack; over 2,700 lives were lost.” “It’s very painful,” he added. “We’re still having trouble getting over it. We still have been unable to rebuild that site, and having those...

Hoffman 'unconcedes' in N.Y.-23 House race By Jordan Fabian - 11/16/09 06:34 PM ET Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman has "unconceded" in New York's special House election after reports that the vote margin between him and Rep. Bill Owens (D) has narrowed. Hoffman conceded the race on Election Night after learning he trailed Owens by 5,335 votes. But the Syracuse Post-Standard reported last week that the margin had shrunk to 3,026 votes after recanvassing. Hoffman appeared on conservative commenatator Glenn Beck's radio show this afternoon. Beck asked the him if he would "unconcede." "Yes, if I knew this information at...

Doug Hoffman just told Glenn Beck they are 2000 votes behind in NY 23with 10,000 absentee votes left to count. This is NOT over.

Gov. David Paterson openly criticized the White House on Monday, saying he thought it was a terrible idea to move alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists to New York for trial.

BAGHDAD — Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division took over partnership responsibilities with Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in eastern Baghdad during a transfer ceremony, Nov. 15. The ceremony here at Joint Security Station Loyalty marked the end to the year-long deployment for paratroopers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. "I would like to take a moment to thank ... the entire Panther team for the hard work they put in to making our transition a success,” said Col. David M. Miller, of Evanston, Ill., the commander of 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. “Congratulations...

Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, said in an interview that New Yorkers are being forced by the Obama administration to host the trials for terrorists suspected of planning the Sept. 11 attacks that killed thousands in lower Manhattan. "They're having this pushed down their throats," the conservative lawmaker told The Washington Times' "American Morning News" radio show Monday. He also said President Obama's decision to bring self-proclaimed September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices to New York from the Guantanamo Bay detention center is another case of the president "doing a lot of things to look good"...

Should Doug Hoffman had waited and let all the votes be counted? I’m certainly not a fan of taking election counts to the courts, but maybe Doug Hoffman should have let all of the votes be counted before conceding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly got Bill Owens (D- N.Y.) down to Washington D.C. and swore him in within a few days so he could break his first campaign promise and vote to include a public option for health care. To be fair, Owens was against the public option early in the campaign, only to quietly reverse his opinion in the...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer says a hole in federal gun laws allowed the man charged with a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas to purchase a gun.Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged with the shooting spree that left 13 dead.Hasan purchased a gun at a store in Texas in August even though the Joint Terrorism Task Force had investigated him for possible terrorist ties.Authorities had taken a look at Hasan after intercepting messages between Hasan and a radical imam overseas. The inquiry was closed sometime in early 2009.Schumer says that should have been enough...

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

A first-term congressman drew a salary from his campaign for office last fall, his office said. Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) pocketed about $15,000 in campaign funds, the Buffalo News reported Sunday, while his wife was paid $18,000 for her work as campaign treasurer. "Eric did draw a meager salary at the end of the 2008 campaign to cover expenses after campaigning full-time for four years," Massa's spokesman told the News. "There aren't many people who have spent more time or effort working for the privilege of serving the families of their congressional district's than Rep. Massa."